Teacher loan forgiveness.

In plain English

Teacher loan forgiveness is a federal program that cancels a portion of your Direct or FFEL student loans after you complete five consecutive full years as a highly qualified teacher at an eligible low-income school or educational service agency. "Highly qualified" is a federal standard tied to your certification and subject knowledge. The maximum forgiven is up to $17,500 for highly qualified special education and secondary math or science teachers, and up to $5,000 for other eligible teachers. You apply after finishing the five years, and you must not have had an outstanding federal loan balance as of October 1, 1998. The first step is to confirm your school appears on the federal low-income school directory, which you can check through studentaid.gov.

01Why it matters

For a teacher carrying student debt, this can erase a meaningful chunk of the balance, but the dollar cap and the five-consecutive-years rule mean planning matters. Leaving a qualifying school in year four resets the clock.

02The math, step by step

A highly qualified special education teacher works five straight years at a school on the federal low-income directory, then applies. The forgiven amount is capped at $17,500 for that subject area, while many other eligible teachers are capped at $5,000.

03What this is NOT

04Receipts

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